Good first half of 2024 — My no

My domain sales are down significantly this year compared to this point last year.

We’re halfway through 2024, and my domain sales are rather dismal compared to last year. At many times in recent months, I’ve been reminded of one of my favorite books as a child.

The reality is my portfolio has a lot of noise. At 2,500 names, a bit of luck one way or the other makes a huge difference. I handful of buyers deciding now is the time to buy a domain makes or breaks my portfolio. (In the first half of 2023 I sold four domains related to AI. This year, just one.)

Last year I felt smug having a great year, but heard from others that they had bad years. I’m sure following posting this update, many people will say they’re having a good start to this year. Modest portfolios don’t have statistical norms.

So, let’s look at the numbers.

This year vs. 2023 YTD

Total domain sales: 17 / 23
Annualized STR: 1.36% / 1.96%

For most passive portfolios like mine, a sell-through rate of 1-2% is considered solid. There will be ebbs and flows.

But I have to say, it’s was frustrating going through June with just one sale for the month. Especially since there appears to be little I can do regarding it.

There are a couple of things I’m going to try.

First, I want to self-broker some more of my domains to understand what buyers are really saying and thinking. Afternic’s Lead Center is great, but it has also shown me that some brokers there don’t reach out with the frequency I’d like. Or at least that’s how it looks based on the data in Lead Center. And when they decline a sale, I only hear that they aren’t willing to pay what I’m asking. So, I moved some of my domains to Atom recently to see what the inquiries look like and to negotiate directly.

Second, I signed up to try outbounding with Domains Outbound. I have no idea how it will go, but I ought to have a good idea sometime in July following the firm starts sending emails.

Here’s to a better second half of the year.